Standard Ship Designs and Costs
Transport Ships
Spaceliners. HULL SIZE = 6-15. Spaceliners (passenger transports) are built in a wide variety of sizes. Modern spaceliners are fast, quiet ships, capable of providing the wealthy passenger with any conceivable luxury. Many of the older liners are smaller, somewhat decrepit vessels that promise only the fundamental requirements of life support. The number of passengers carried by a spaceliner is about 25 times the ship's hull size. For example, a spaceliner with a hull size of 10 can carry 250 passengers. Engine durability varies as much as size on spaceliners. Some will require an overhaul after three jumps, while others will be able to make 8 or 10 interstellar trips without maintenance.
Freighters. HULL SIZE = 5-20. Freighters (freight transports) are built in a greater variety of styles than spaceliners. The largest are as big as a battleship, but are much slower and less maneuverable. Some small freighters are fast enough to out-run pirate vessels or spacefleet frigates. Most of the room in a freighter is taken up by cargo, so the crew generally will approximately equal the ship's hull size. As with spaceliners, differences in engine performance allow some freighters to make many jumps without adjustment, while others must be overhauled after each trip.
Scientific Research Ships System Ships. HULL SIZE = 3-6. System research ships are basically self-propelled laboratories that are based at space stations or (rarely) at a spaceport on a planet. They are used to explore, map and analyze the planets, asteroids, moons and star(s) of a given star system. Detection of gravitational patterns, star mapping, and atmosphere and ecological analysis of potentially habitable planets are among the primary functions of a system research ship. The rocket engines of a system ship are not capable of interstellar travel, but a large research ship can spend up to a year in space before returning to base.
Starships. HULL SIZE = 3-7. Starship research vessels have atomic engines and are capable of interstellar jumps. These ships often are used to examine recently discovered systems, deep space phenomena (gas clouds and such) or mineral content in distant and uninhabitable planets and asteroids. Performance is not a priority on these ships, so acceleration and maneuverability tend to be poor. However, starship research vessels often are capable of making three jumps before the engine needs an overhaul.
Agriculture Ships and Stations
Agriculture Starships. HULL SIZE = 8-16. Agriculture starships are very expensive to build and move, because of the large amount of mass (in the form of water) that they must carry. Sometimes, however, the only way a new colony in some remote star system can be provided with food is by sending an Agstarship to that system. In this case, the smallest type of Ag ship that can supply the colony's needs will be sent. As a colony grows, it is expected to begin developing its own food sources.
Agriculture System Ships. HULL SIZE = 10-20. Agriculture system ships are huge vessels designed to serve as a base for food production. Food usually is grown hydroponically (in nutrient solutions) to produce as much food as possible in a short time. Ag ships use solar energy from the system's star, but also have auxiliary power sources to provide the light and heat needed by the growing plants. Agriculture ships often are the only source of food in systems where edible plants cannot be grown on the planets. An Ag ship can support a number of
people equal to its hull size x 200, providing all of the food for that group of individuals. Because most of the work on an Ag ship is done by robots, an Ag ship needs only four crew members, plus one additional crew member for each 5 hull size points.
Agriculture Space Stations. STATION HULL SIZES = 4-6. An Ag space station has the same function as an Ag ship, but it has no engines. Most are in permanent orbits around planets, but some are placed nearer to a star to collect enough solar energy so they do not need auxiliary power sources. An agriculture space station can produce enough food to feed a population equal to its hull size x 2,000.
Mining Ships. HULL SIZE = 8-20. Mining ships are used to remove valuable ores, minerals, metals and other resources from asteroids and planets. The ship's processing facilities remove valuable materials from the rock or dirt being mined and jettison the tailings. When a planet is mined, the mining ship sends several shuttles (carried in the miner's cargo hold) down to the surface, where the digging and processing takes place. Only the valuable materials are brought back to the ship. The processed materials are loaded into the shuttle hangars and the shuttles are left behind when the miner returns to its base. When an asteroid is mined, the processing takes place in the mining ship. Digger shuttles are used to bore into the asteroid and carry the raw ore back to the mining ship.
Exploration Ships
HULL SIZE = 3. Exploration ships are civilian versions of assault scouts. They have the same performance capabilities, but are usually unarmed. Instead of weapons, they carry sophisticated computers and mapping devices for exploring the unknown reaches of the galaxy. An exploration ship can carry up to 10 crew members. As traveling in unmapped regions is a very risky business (10 to 20% of all exploratory missions are never heard from again 1), exploration ship crews are kept as small as possible. A wide variety of miscellaneous equipment can be carried by an exploration ship. Occasionally, a large research starship will be outfitted and manned for an exploratory mission. This generally occurs when a standard exploration ship would be too small for the expedition's needs.
SPACESHIP TYPES
Shuttles
Shuttles are small ships that can land on the surface of a planet and take off again. They can fly into orbit around planets, but their range is too short for interplanetary or interstellar travel. They are propelled with chemical drives (rockets).
Shuttles are the least expensive spaceships to build. Shuttles are used to transport passengers and supplies from starships or space stations to a planet's surface, and from planets to ships in orbit. Unlike other types of spaceships, a shuttle can be flown by any technician that has reached the 6th level of ability.
System Ships
System ships are driven by chemical propulsion. They can be built in a wide variety of sizes, and most have much longer ranges than shuttles. These vessels are called system ships because they can travel among the planets, asteroids and space stations of a given star system. The limitations of rocket engines, however, prevent them from attaining the speeds necessary for interstellar travel.
System ships can be used for many jobs. They are used to transport minerals from mining centers on asteroids or uninhabited planets to large processing centers. Some exploration and agriculture ships are system ships. In star systems where several planets are inhabited, they may carry passengers between those planets. Any character with 1st level spaceship piloting skill can operate a system ship.
Starships
Starships are the fastest and most expensive spaceships. The development of the starship paved the way for the United Planetary Federation's birth, and made it possible for Vrusk, Dralasites, Yazirians and Humans to meet face to face. Starships are driven by either atomic fission engines or ion engines.They tend to be large, although the recent introduction of the assault scout has created an exception to this rule, Starships are used for any job that requires transport from one star system to another. Most military ships, many freight haulers, passenger, research and exploration vessels, and some agricultural ships are starships.
A character must have reached at least the 2nd level of spaceship piloting skill to operate a small starship. Higher levels of ability are required to operate larger starships. See the section on Spaceship Skills for more details.
SPACE STATION TYPES
Space stations are different from space ships, as they have no means of propulsion. Instead, they are constructed in orbit around a planet, and stay there through their entire service.
Space stations vary widely in size and cost. Most spin so that centrifugal force will simulate gravity around the station's outer rim. It is not uncommon for a station to have a population of several thousand more or less permanent residents.
Space stations are used as docking centers for all other types of spaceships. Starships and large system ships cannot land on planets, so they transfer cargo and passengers while docked at space stations. Shuttles are used to transport goods and passengers between the station and the planet's surface. Larger stations carry large quantities of supplies that are loaded onto ships as they are needed. The docking bay of a space station is located at the "hub" of the circle. There is no centrifugal force, and hence no gravity, in the docking bay, so ships can gently connect to the ports leading to the interior of the station. The "spokes" of the circle usually contain elevator shafts which ferry individuals and goods to the station rim. As the elevators travel toward the rim, the feeling of gravity inside the elevator increases until, at the rim, it is the equivalent of about 1 g.
Commerce Centers
The rim of a commerce station contains all of the stores, restaurants, taverns, nightclubs, theatres and other businesses common in a bustling city. The rim is divided into several decks. The upper decks - those closest to the hub - contain living quarters similar to apartments and hotel rooms, where characters can stay during a visit to the station. Above the lodging decks are the administrative offices of the station.
Larger stations store many supplies that are loaded onto spaceships as they are purchased. The supply storage area usually is near the hub, where large, massive objects and crates can be moved easily through the low gravity.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:35, Mon 19 Sept 2022.
